Whatever Happens
by productivelyfun
Summary: Set post-episode 78, and follows the Pemberley Arc. May contain spoilers if you don't know the story! (If not, WHY! *cries hysterically*) Chapters switch between Darcy and Lizzie's POV about the events after episode 78 leading up to the big Lydia/Wickham bombshell!
1. Chapter 1

It hadn't been an enjoyable week for Darcy. He had been stuck in meetings all week under his Aunt Catherine's desires with clients who were beyond ridiculous. He found these meetings particularly difficult to concentrate on – not only because of the irrelevant information the clients had droned on with, but also because he found it impossible to concentrate on just about anything whenever he saw Lizzie wander past the conference room, immersed in whatever task she was working on.

Somehow, just seeing Lizzie around the office and seeing how easily she fit in had made him both elated, and incredibly dispirited; especially knowing that she would be returning home in a matter of weeks now. He had grown accustomed to seeing her each morning, and being able to use various meetings as an excuse to talk to her. He didn't know how he felt about her time here drawing to a close, and was determined to make sure that when she left Pemberley, she would at least have a better opinion of him in her mind. He wanted her to see that he wasn't a robot, and that he was capable of human emotions. Most of all, he wanted her to be impressed with his company – he wanted her to see just what he was capable of if only he was given a chance.

It seemed somewhat ironic to Darcy that he had previously used work as a means of escaping the brutal thoughts that had inundated him immediately after he confessed his love for Lizzie, which she had rejected violently. Now it had become the only place in which he had been able to see her recently. Darcy had been content merely exchanging a nod, or some general pleasantries with Lizzie, until Gigi had decided to interfere. Though he loved his sister dearly, Gigi didn't seem to understand that some things couldn't be rectified immediately, and the situation between Lizzie and himself, was delicate at best.

Gigi's scheming saw both he and Lizzie barricaded in Lizzie's office the other day. While it was admittedly an awkward situation (which Gigi and Fitz would pay greatly for later), it at least gave him an uninterrupted opportunity to converse with Lizzie. Surprisingly, she was civil towards him. She answered his questions politely and as he went to leave she had touched his arm. Her fingers had sent electric shocks through Darcy's wrist and kick started all those feelings he had somehow managed to bury and ignore for the past few months. _Progress,_ he had thought.

Gigi had invited Lizzie around to join Caroline, Bing and himself for dinner this evening. While he was thrilled to see Lizzie again outside of Pemberley, they again had barely spoken since their encounter in Lizzie's office. Lizzie seemed reserved – like there was something on her mind that she couldn't seem to forget about, no matter how many glasses of wine Bing had put in front of her. Now poor Lizzie was virtually drunk, still reserved and apparently staying the night.

Darcy couldn't stand to see Lizzie so flat. The few times he'd managed to speak to her this evening, he had received monosyllabic answers from her. She still smiled at him though, though her smile never quite reached her eyes. Darcy wasn't sure if she was regretting what happened between them earlier in her office, or whether it was due to an external matter that didn't involve him. Either way, Darcy had also resorted to drinking countless glasses of wine, or scotch too – again, whatever Bing had chosen to put in front of him.

Much to Darcy's displeasure, Caroline had been hanging off his arm all evening. Her touch, Darcy noticed, did nothing for him. No electric shocks like he had received from Lizzie's, and definitely no feelings rose up towards Caroline. Well, there was _one_ emotion towards Caroline that surfaced, but rather than being one of extreme happiness, it was more one of complete and utter loathing for this odious woman. He couldn't stand the way hit his arm when she laughed loudly, or the way she kept flicking her hair, or the terrible smell of her perfume which robbed the air from his lungs. Still, he was civil towards her, because that's what his mother had taught him. Gigi smiled sympathetically at him across the table, and he rolled his eyes in response before looking down to conceal a smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Lizzie's gaze on him, and when he turned his focus to her, she blushed and became very interested in pushing the food around on her plate.

After Dinner, Caroline had suggested they all retired to the lounge room while the housekeepers cleaned up. It was then that Darcy excused himself, and disappeared into the library on the second floor to be alone with his thoughts, and as far away from Caroline as he could be. His thoughts were drastically muddled from the copious amounts of alcohol he had consumed, and despite the fact that his head was spinning, he poured himself another glass of scotch, which he kept in the corner of the library.

Darcy sat on the lounge in the darkness; the lights from the city illuminating the library enough for him to see. There, he sat and thought of nothing but Lizzie – analyzing her facial expressions, her tone of voice and body language both at the office and here. Darcy wondered if something he had said, or done that had triggered this change of character in Lizzie, but he comforted himself in knowing that if he had done something Lizzie hadn't liked, she would be bold enough to tell him to his face. And in front of one million other viewers.

He sighed and settled back into the lounge, closing his eyes briefly. He had to over come this. Despite how hard he had been trying, Lizzie still didn't think of him as anything other than an emotionless robot, and he wasn't brave enough to ask her whether the way she had touched his arm had meant anything.

So he sat, and he drank in complete solitude, with thoughts of Lizzie making his head spin more than the alcohol.


	2. Chapter 2

Lizzie sat next to Gigi on one of the couches in the lounge room, sipping on her wine and listened to Bing and Caroline retell stories from back in their college days. Caroline's cheeks were flushed from too much alcohol, and her voice was louder than it had been earlier in the evening. But still she continued to giggle like a young child and flip her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh Bing, wasn't that a great night?!" Caroline said breathlessly, as the laughter in the room died down.

"It was definitely a very amusing night," he replied, a grin stretching across his face. "Darcy and I certainly paid the price the following day. Dreadful hangovers!"

"Sometimes I have such a hard time believing that Darcy could be that entertaining," Caroline quipped, "Especially since he's so dour all the time these days!"

"He's got a lot on his mind right now," Gigi said, defending her brother. "But he's still that same guy he was back in college"

Caroline snorted as Lizzie raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at Gigi for further explanation. She opened her mouth to elaborate, before Caroline cut her off; a condescending tone in her voice.

"You're a sweet little sister, Gigi, but let him defend himself!"

Caroline drained her wine glass.

"Speaking of Darcy, where is he? Has he disappeared again?" she asked, twisting around in her chair, while her eyes scanned the room for the man in question.

"He'll come back when he's ready." Gigi replied, shrugging.

"Your brother is _so_ strange!" Caroline said with a slight slur in her voice. Bing discreetly reached across and took away his sister's wine glass.

"That's just who Will is." Gigi said quietly, "The more you push him into doing something, the less he is inclined he is to participate. Ironically."

"Well. I'm sure Lizzie has plenty of stories about her strange sisters that she can entertain us with. Right Lizzie?" Caroline asked smugly. "Especially with your dear, energetic younger sister."

Lizzie looked at Caroline, who was twirling a lock of her hair around her fingers with a slightly sinister smile on her face. Bing was looking at his sister with a look of embarrassment and sheer horror on his face.

"Not really," Lizzie replied coolly. Evidently, alcohol bought out the worst in Caroline.

"Oh come on!" Caroline huffed, "Not one? I remember Lydia was a bit of a handful when we went to Carter's that night. How about we start there?"

Bing gave Caroline a look of warning which she obviously chose to ignore. Lizzie was about to reply, when suddenly her phone buzzed repeatedly. She looked at it and saw Jane's face on the screen. _That's odd,_ Lizzie thought. Jane was usually too busy to call her these days and it was late at night.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Could you excuse me for a moment?"

She patted Gigi on the knee, before jumping up and walking into the kitchen. When she was sure she was out of earshot, she answered her phone.

"Jane?"

"Oh Lizzie, thank God." Jane sounded panicked. "Where are you?"

"Uh, I'm just out having some dinner," Lizzie replied, choosing not to tell Jane where she was, or who she was with lest it upset her further. "What's up?"

"Oh God, Lizzie. I don't even know where to begin. You need to come home as soon as you can because something terrible has happened with Lydia. "

Lizzie felt her chest constrict in shock, and she leaned against the counter pressing her hand across her mouth. Gigi walked into the kitchen, and hesitated upon seeing the look on Lizzie's face. Her eyebrows knitted together with concern, but didn't interrupt her conversation.

"What happened, Jane? Is she OK?"

Jane's voice on the other end of the line was slightly higher, as though she was on the verge of tears again.

"It's really not good. I'm sorry Lizzie, but what happened with Lydia ... Well, it involved George Wickham too."

Lizzie felt the colour drain completely from her face and she hoped with all her heart that Gigi wasn't able to hear anything Jane was saying. Luckily Gigi chose that moment to open the fridge and pull out another bottle of wine for Bing. Lizzie managed to extract all the details from Jane, before hanging up the phone breathlessly and running her fingers through her hair in distress.

"Lizzie? Is everything OK?" Gigi asked, watching Lizzie pace around the kitchen anxiously.

"I don't know. I just … I have to leave, immediately. Something has happened at home."

Gigi looked at her watch and frowned.

"Lizzie, it's late and it's absolutely pouring outside. I really don't think it's a good idea to brave the elements tonight. Besides which, you've had far too much to drink. It wouldn't be safe for you to drive at all."

Lizzie looked outside the kitchen window. Sure enough, the storm that had been threatening the city all day had descended sometime during dinner, and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance.

"Lizzie, there isn't much you can do at this hour," Gigi continued reasonably, "Call Jane back. Tell her that you'll leave first thing in the morning. Our driver can take you back as soon as daylight hits. But for now you would be better to stay the night, go back home tomorrow and deal with everything with a clear head."

Lizzie ran her fingers through her hair again and paced around the kitchen frantically. Gigi was right. There was nothing she could do at this precise hour and in her current state. She called Jane back reluctantly, and told her that she would be returning home first thing tomorrow.

Although distressed, Jane understood and agreed that Gigi's idea was sensible. Bidding her sister farewell, Lizzie hung up the phone and leaned against the counter again.

"I think I'm just going to take some time out to process everything."

"I understand," Gigi said quietly. "Go. I'll make your apologies to Bing and Caroline for you."

As Lizzie went to leave, Gigi pressed the bottle of wine into Lizzie's hand.

"To help you sleep," she said simply. She gave Lizzie a quick hug before grabbing another bottle of wine and returning back into the lounge room. Lizzie disappeared through the kitchen and walked quickly up to the second floor. As soon as the darkness of the hallway engulfed her, the tears slid heavily down her face. She felt completely numb.

In her mind, Lizzie could see the words Darcy had written about Wickham stretch out over the page. Words explaining what had happened between Wickham and Gigi, and the extreme measures he had taken to save his little sister.

One thing was certain in Lizzie's mind. There was absolutely no way that she could save Lydia the way that Darcy had saved Gigi. Oh no – There was no helping her baby sister at all. This was one mistake that Lydia would have to see be played out.


	3. Chapter 3

Darcy was roused out of his thoughts at the sound of quick footsteps approaching the library. He put his scotch down on the table, and looked towards the door. To his surprise, Lizzie appeared. She was walking into the library, texting someone with one hand, while she rubbed her eye with the other. Clutched to her body in the crook of her arm was a bottle of wine.

"Lizzie," said Darcy, careful to keep the surprise out of his voice.

Lizzie jumped a mile. Darcy suddenly realized that she had thought the library to be deserted, and that she probably couldn't see him sitting there in the darkness.

"God, Darcy! You scared me!"

Darcy turned to the table beside him and flicked on the lamp. If he thought Lizzie had seemed out of sorts during dinner, it was nothing compared to how she was now. Lizzie, so usually composed, looked completely shattered. Her hair was ruffled, her eyes were bloodshot and her hands, still clutching her iphone, were shaking drastically.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Grand. Everything is grand." Her voice shook though, and she stumbled slightly on her heels.

Darcy stood up immediately and went over to her. He took the wine, and her phone from her hands and put them down on the table. When he turned around again, she was rubbing her forehead with hands that still trembled. She looked on the verge of tears - an emotion he never expected to see from Lizzie. She was always so strong; so composed. Yet here she was, before him, in the complete opposite state. Her make up, though not smudged, was visibly worn from where she was been rubbing her eyes.

"Evidently, it would seem that everything is not quite as grand as you say it is." He said

"Then why did you bother asking?" Lizzie snapped back. She shook her head quickly, with a look of regret on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I should go."

She turned to leave, but Darcy grabbed her arms gently and looked into her eyes. They stared back at him, with a look of complete helplessness in them. Darcy had seen that look only one other time in his life, and that was from Gigi after he had picked her up from Swim Camp after learning about had happened with her and Wickham. The look in Lizzie's eyes hit him as hard in the chest as they had coming from Gigi.

"I know you probably won't take me up on this offer, but if there's anything I can do to help, you just need to ask."

Darcy hated seeing Lizzie so distressed, and he wondered what, or whom, had made her so upset. To his surprise, tears started to slide down Lizzie's face and she didn't struggle to get out of his grip. She lowered her head, and her shoulders slumped. She was clearly defeated.

"I might as well tell you, as I'm sure you'll find out anyway. I have to return home first thing tomorrow. Lydia …." She stopped briefly, overcome with a choking sob. "Lydia … and Wickham … Oh God, Darcy ..."

Darcy's eyes widened in sudden comprehension, and his stomach plummeted. He didn't need Lizzie to finish her story – If it involved Lydia and Wickham, there was only one way it _could _end. The same way it had with Gigi …

"When did you find out?" he asked her quietly.

"Jane just called me. I answered my phone in the kitchen. Gigi walked in halfway through my conversation, so knows I have to go, but she doesn't know why. If you can … I don't know … Fabricate some sort of story to cover me, I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course," he replied.

"Darcy, Gigi can't know. It would absolutely kill her." Lizzie said urgently. "You can't let her find out."

Darcy met Lizzie eyes, and the sadness in them overwhelmed him. Without realizing it, he gently pulled her to his chest and felt her body shudder as she cried. She made no effort to pull away from him - rather, she pressed her face to his chest and completely broke down. In that moment, Darcy had never loathed Wickham more. He had managed to weasel his way into the lives of everybody he cared about before proceeding to single handedly destroying them.

He stood there, with a sobbing Lizzie wrapped in his arms. Under usual circumstances he would have been ecstatic to be embracing Lizzie like this, but the weight in his chest told him something terrible was at bay. He gently stroked Lizzie's hair before finally replying somberly.

"I promise. Whatever happens, Lizzie, I promise I'll do my best to help you."

William Darcy never broke a promise. And George Wickham would not get away with his actions this time ...


	4. Chapter 4

Lizzie wasn't sure how long she had stood wrapped in Darcy's arms, crying like an infant. She pulled back from him and wiped her eyes, feeling incredibly embarrassment and defeated. She had sworn never to let Darcy see that she was weak, but being strong right now felt virtually impossible. Lydia had no idea of the consequences of her, and Wickham's actions. There was so much debris to clean up, and Lizzie didn't have the slightest idea of where to start. Darcy's voice sounded, interrupting her thoughts.

"I can drive you back tomorrow," he said. His voice was cold, and Lizzie was sure that he was only offering this to her to be polite. To save him the misery, she declined the offer.

"Thank you. I have my car here, but I just can't drive right now." She motioned her head towards the bottle of wine that was still sitting on the table next to her phone which she ignored, despite it's constant buzzing.

"Of course." Darcy replied, nodding once.

Lizzie sat on the lounge where Darcy had been sitting previously, took off her heels and curled up on the couch. She didn't know what else to say about the situation, but Darcy stood before her, waiting for her to say something else. Lizzie tried desperately to grasp a single thought from amongst the mess in her mind, but she couldn't.

The full gravity of the situation had hit Lizzie so hard that she felt as though she'd never be able to face the world again. Her baby sister, Wickham, Gigi. The thoughts whirled around inside her head making her more anxious than before.

Darcy picked up the bottle of wine next to him, opened it and poured some into two scotch glasses. Then, he came and sat beside Lizzie and handed her a glass. She looked at him quizzically.

"Might as well," he said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

Lizzie accepted the glass gratefully and took a large sip, feeling some of the tension in her body ease. It wasn't ideal having Darcy know these intimate family details, but if anyone had to know, then she was relieved that it was _him _that knew. Darcy had prior experience dealing with Wickham when he had tried to take Gigi down with him, and if anyone knew what to do in this situation it would be Darcy.

"I don't want to drag you into my problems," Lizzie said suddenly.

"You're not," he replied shortly, swishing the wine around inside his glass.

Lizzie tried to decipher the look that was etched upon his face. It looked like he either wanted to get away from Lizzie as soon as possible, or single handedly strangle Wickham. Or perhaps it was both. Simultaneously. Lizzie sighed.

After what seemed like hours, Darcy spoke again. His voice was quiet, and had a slight edge to it.

"It shocks me that Wickham is still causing this kind of trouble, that's all. It amazes me that people can be so enticed by his personality, and be so gullible when it comes to anything the man says."

Lizzie felt her face flush with embarrassment. Darcy must have realized what he had said at once, because his eyes widened and he spoke hurriedly.

"Forgive me, Elizabeth. I exclude you from that comment. Whatever happened between you and Wickham is none of my business, but I know that you are able to fend for yourself. Gigi was not so lucky."

Lizzie shook her head.

"But I was gullible too, wasn't I? I believed his side of story for such a long time."

Darcy looked at her for a few moments before replying.

"I assume from that comment that now you believe what I told you about him in my letter."

Lizzie nodded and took another sip of her wine before answering.

"I've believed you for months actually."

Darcy raised his eyebrows in surprise and took a sip of wine too, but didn't say anything.

Lizzie fiddled with her glass, and noticed that she was shivering. It was cold up here in the library, and she hadn't thought to bring her jacket upstairs when she fled from the kitchen after Jane's call. She presumed she would go up to her room, crawl under the bed covers, fall asleep and pretend that today never happened. Yet she sought out the comfort of a room full of books instead.

"I can't stop thinking about this … this disaster. I don't know how my family is going to fix this. It's impossible!"

Again, Darcy said nothing. He sipped at his wine occasionally as though deep in thought.

"I am truly sorry this has happened to you and your family," he said finally. "I wouldn't wish this on anybody."

Her head was spinning from trying to process all the information Jane had told her, the alcohol and the fact that she was sitting here with Darcy and confiding in him.

He took off his jacket and pressed it gently into Lizzie's hands. She accepted it gratefully and slipped her arms into the jacket, wrapping it tightly around her body. She caught the scent of Darcy's cologne on his jacket and felt a twinge in her chest.

It occurred to her that perhaps she didn't hate Darcy as much as she thought she did, and accepting that emotion almost broke her heart for a second time that evening. Lydia's actions would ruin everything between them, and once again they would revert back to being strangers.

Lizzie took another mouthful of wine, before resting her head against the back of the lounge and closing her eyes. Darcy sat next to her in silence, occasionally shifting his position on the couch, but otherwise leaving her to her thoughts.

Tomorrow, everything would be completely different between her and Darcy, and she bet that secretly he would be glad that Lizzie's rejection of him had allowed him to dodge this bullet. The thought of his feelings for her suddenly made her heart heavy, especially knowing that now, just when she believed her feelings for him were starting to change, that there was no change they would ever be offered to her again.

Lizzie often believed that things happened for a reason, though try as she might, she couldn't find any reasoning for what had just happened to her family. She felt another tear escape from her eyes, and she pulled Darcy's jacket around her tighter.

Tomorrow, everything would be different … And Lizzie wasn't sure she wanted to know what was waiting for her when she woke up in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Darcy still sat next to Lizzie in the early hours of the morning, watching her closely. At some stage, she had managed to fall asleep, still wrapped in his jacket. Her head was resting on Darcy's shoulder, sending waves of auburn hair tumbling down onto Darcy's arm. He knew he should probably wake her, and let her rest in a proper bed so she wasn't exhausted when it came time to her dealing with the ramifications of Lydia and George's actions, but part of him was selfish too. He wanted to spend just this one night with her before she disappeared again for God knows how long.

While Lizzie rested, Darcy's mind had been running in overdrive, trying to determine some way of dealing with Wickham. It needed to be discreet so that Lizzie would never find out that he had a part in it, but it also needed to be a solution that was permanent and had no chance of ever surfacing again in the future.

The last thing Darcy wanted was for Lizzie to feel as though she was in debt to him. If she wanted to spend time with him, he wanted it to be on her own accord, not because she felt that she had an obligation to.

Part of Darcy was furious that Wickham was being so manipulative towards Lydia. While it was true that Lydia was far too energetic for Darcy's likings, she was still Lizzie's sister, and despite Lizzie's previous nonchalance towards her sister, he knew she still cared deeply for her. Wickham had almost destroyed Gigi's life. He didn't want him to destroy Lydia's too, and by extension, Lizzie's.

No, this was a complex situation that nothing short of a miracle could solve.

Lizzie's phone buzzed on the table before him. He looked down at her, but she made no movement, clearly not hearing the text message come in.

He quickly glanced at it to make sure it wasn't Jane trying to get in touch with her urgently, but saw that the message was from Charlotte.

What could Charlotte be wanting at 3am?

_You need to watch Lydia's videos ASAP._

Lydia had videos too? Darcy pulled his phone out of his pocket, and tapped on the YouTube application. Carefully tapping in _Lydia Bennet _in the search field, he was surprised to find that the first thumbnail that appeared showed her wrapped in Wickham's arms. Only she didn't look like the Lydia Bennet he had met at Carter's all those months ago. Clearly, George had already gotten his claws into her by then.

He switched his phone to silent, put on the subtitles, and watched her videos from the very beginning. By the time he had reached Lydia's last video, he was seething. Lydia was laying all over Wickham, who was looking at the camera and addressing Lizzie directly.

_"I just wanted to say thank you for listening to Darcy and kicking me to the curb, because if you hadn't, I wouldn't have had the chance to reconnect with your little sister here, and I'm so happy that I did. Anyways, when you watch this video, I hope that you understand what she means to me and how happy we are together. I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks, peach."_

And then he had the nerve to _wink._ Darcy was absolutely furious, and suddenly he found it very difficult to sit still, and not wake Lizzie. He wanted to be out there, right now, finding Wickham and Lydia. And when he found them, oh, there would be hell to pay. But he couldn't figure out where they were. All he could see was a snippet of a couch, and a little bit of green in the background – otherwise they sat in front of cream coloured walls.

Darcy didn't want to see Lizzie suffer at the hands of Wickham a second time. It had hurt him seeing how upset she was when Wickham suddenly disappeared out of her life, only to come back again months later. But not for her. For her little sister.

He then thought of Gigi, and remembered the many months it had taken her to recover from her encounter with Wickham. He had endured seeing his little sister, so usually full of life, walk around the house in tracksuit pants and an oversize sweater, with no makeup on and an empty expression on her face. He remembered having to coerce her into eating because she had stopped looking after herself completely. But most of all, he remembers the sound of her sobbing in the early hours of the morning; when she thought him to be asleep and unaware of the turmoil that she was suffering. It had eaten Darcy alive to see his sister in this state, and it had been a long road back to where she was now.

He could suddenly understand the desperation in Lizzie's plea to ensure that Gigi never found out about what had happened with George and Lydia. Darcy couldn't risk having his sister sink into that kind of depression again. But this was so much bigger than just he and Gigi now, and Darcy was determined to put an end to Wickham's antics as soon as he found him.

Suddenly, Darcy paused Lydia's video, and studied the green patterned cloth in the background that hung above the couch. Where had he seen that before? He wracked his brains frantically. It hadn't been somewhere he had been recently. He kept scanning his eyes over the green fabric, until he had finally dawned on him. His father had given that bit of cloth after he'd come home from a business trip in Asia. He remembered George thanking but, but saying he wasn't the kind of person who used table cloths like he did.

_"It's not a table cloth, George" _his father had replied, laughing heartily, _"It's something for you to hang on the wall when you eventually buy your own house. Kind of like a painting, I guess. But Anne insisted we buy it, since she knows green is your favourite colour."_

The words rang over in Darcy's head, until it finally dawned on him. He quickly opened safari, and went to the homepage of Wickham's Swimming Club. Navigating to the Staff Profile page, he clicked on the photograph of Wickham's face and scanned over his biography. It didn't tell him exactly what he wanted to know, but it at least pointed him in the right direction.

An hour later, and dozens of safari tabs later, Darcy was fairly certain he knew where Lydia and George were. Ignoring the fact that he hadn't slept in almost 24 hours, he texted Gigi. He hoped it wouldn't wake her since she was a light sleeper, but she'd become worried if she woke up and he wasn't home, or at work. It seemed that Darcy was going to have to fabricate more than one alibi ... Whatever he said, it was going to have to be something that would warrant the absence of both he and Lizzie.

_Summoned to an urgent business meeting out of town, and had to leave immediately. Lizzie will be returning home, following a death in the family. Will call you later. W._

Even as he pressed send, he knew his alibi for Lizzie was extreme, and knew it wouldn't be long before Gigi started talking to her to make sure that Lizzie was coping. If nothing else, at least he had bought her some time, he thought.

Darcy looked down at Lizzie, still fast asleep on his shoulder. His chest constricted at the sight of how peaceful and innocent she looked, knowing that feeling was going to be short lived. Darcy had no idea when he would see her again, and his heart became heavy. Careful not to wake her, he slipped out from under, and gently laid her on the couch, making sure his jacket was going to keep her warm enough. He gently tucked a section of her hair behind her ear, and took one last look at her, before quietly leaving the room.

It was time to begin his search.


End file.
